Baja California

Mexico

La Paz Travel Guide

The holiday retreat of La Paz is the laid-back capital of Baja
California Sur, known for its stunning sunsets and beaches. The
city is a perfect base from which to explore the magical
surrounding landscape. Although it has excellent beaches, it is not
known specifically as a beach resort, but is a tranquil Mexican
port which has retained a charming colonial atmosphere. La Paz is a
'real' city where locals go about their daily business among the
tourist shops, fancy restaurants and tour operators. The most
romantic feature in the city is the waterfront promenade, or
malecón, around which city life revolves,
stretching for several kilometres along sandy beaches. Much of the
dining and nightlife most popular with travellers is found along
this walkway and it is the best place to catch one of the city's
famously spectacular sunsets while on holiday.

La Paz is the eco-tourism capital of the country, surrounded by
desert and situated in a large bay on the Sea of Cortez, with a
variety of outdoor tour guides offering excellent trips. The region
boasts astonishing plant and animal life, the varied and dramatic
geology of the inland deserts, mountains and oases, and the Sierra
de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve. Beautiful unspoilt offshore islands
offer naturalist hiking, as well as amazing diving and snorkelling
from pristine beaches with hammerhead sharks, dolphins, sea lions
and gigantic whale sharks. The islands are the destination of
kayakers, sailors and boat cruises, and the bay is a popular
yachting stopover. La Paz is a fisherman's paradise and its
international fishing competitions are world famous. To the north
of the city, along the Pichilingue Peninsula, are some magnificent
beaches, backed by mangroves and the cactus-studded mountains of
the desert.

From small, exclusive boutiques lining the Malecon, to the
department stores of busy downtown La Paz, known as 'El Centro',
the city offers plenty of options for lightening the pocket, with
high fashion and upmarket branded goods aplenty. There are also
numerous stores selling locally produced Mexican arts and crafts to
delight souvenir hunters on holiday, and supermarkets on just about
every street corner for self-caterers.

There are delicious treats to suit all tastes available in the
many restaurants of La Paz, from the highly rated street corner
hotdog and chocolate clam stands, to mouth-watering lobsters from
the Sea of Cortez served up in classy seafront restaurants. The
cuisine of most nationalities is available, including Chinese,
Italian, French and Korean, but traditional Mexican naturally
remains the holiday favourite.

La Paz has no shortage of lively nightspots, with the most
popular located along the Malecon. This brightly lit promenade and
adjacent pier is abuzz with strollers and party-animals after dark,
entertained by groups of street musicians known as
mariachis. Shops stay open late to cater for evening
browsers. Like in most Mexican cities, the party action doesn't
start hotting up until late in the evening, from around 10pm, but
continues until the early hours of the morning. Discos offer all
kinds of music, from traditional Latino to American rock, and many
of the bars and restaurants offer live music. La Caliente and Las
Varitas are great night spots and live music venues. Culture
vultures will probably find a play or concert to their taste at the
Teatro de Ciuidad or Teatro Juarez, and there are several movie
theatres showing American films with Spanish subtitles.

The most popular recreational features of La Paz are its lovely
beaches, all covered with soft sand, which slope gently into clear
blue waters. Most offer watersports rental facilities, and 'palapa'
(woven palm frond umbrellas), which can be hired. Coromuel Beach is
closest to the city centre while further along the Trans-Peninsula
Highway are Tesoro Beach, Pichilinge, Balandra and El Tecolote. La
Paz also has a reputation for offering more extreme water
adventures, such as big game fishing, kayaking, windsurfing,
kitesurfing and scuba diving, particularly in the waters around the
island of Espiritu Santo. Whale-watching excursions and eco-tours
in the mountains to the south of the city are also popular holiday
diversions.

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La Paz Travel Guide

The holiday retreat of La Paz is the laid-back capital of Baja
California Sur, known for its stunning sunsets and beaches. The
city is a perfect base from which to explore the magical
surrounding landscape. Although it has excellent beaches, it is not
known specifically as a beach resort, but is a tranquil Mexican
port which has retained a charming colonial atmosphere. La Paz is a
'real' city where locals go about their daily business among the
tourist shops, fancy restaurants and tour operators. The most
romantic feature in the city is the waterfront promenade, or
malecón, around which city life revolves,
stretching for several kilometres along sandy beaches. Much of the
dining and nightlife most popular with travellers is found along
this walkway and it is the best place to catch one of the city's
famously spectacular sunsets while on holiday.

La Paz is the eco-tourism capital of the country, surrounded by
desert and situated in a large bay on the Sea of Cortez, with a
variety of outdoor tour guides offering excellent trips. The region
boasts astonishing plant and animal life, the varied and dramatic
geology of the inland deserts, mountains and oases, and the Sierra
de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve. Beautiful unspoilt offshore islands
offer naturalist hiking, as well as amazing diving and snorkelling
from pristine beaches with hammerhead sharks, dolphins, sea lions
and gigantic whale sharks. The islands are the destination of
kayakers, sailors and boat cruises, and the bay is a popular
yachting stopover. La Paz is a fisherman's paradise and its
international fishing competitions are world famous. To the north
of the city, along the Pichilingue Peninsula, are some magnificent
beaches, backed by mangroves and the cactus-studded mountains of
the desert.

From small, exclusive boutiques lining the Malecon, to the
department stores of busy downtown La Paz, known as 'El Centro',
the city offers plenty of options for lightening the pocket, with
high fashion and upmarket branded goods aplenty. There are also
numerous stores selling locally produced Mexican arts and crafts to
delight souvenir hunters on holiday, and supermarkets on just about
every street corner for self-caterers.

There are delicious treats to suit all tastes available in the
many restaurants of La Paz, from the highly rated street corner
hotdog and chocolate clam stands, to mouth-watering lobsters from
the Sea of Cortez served up in classy seafront restaurants. The
cuisine of most nationalities is available, including Chinese,
Italian, French and Korean, but traditional Mexican naturally
remains the holiday favourite.

La Paz has no shortage of lively nightspots, with the most
popular located along the Malecon. This brightly lit promenade and
adjacent pier is abuzz with strollers and party-animals after dark,
entertained by groups of street musicians known as
mariachis. Shops stay open late to cater for evening
browsers. Like in most Mexican cities, the party action doesn't
start hotting up until late in the evening, from around 10pm, but
continues until the early hours of the morning. Discos offer all
kinds of music, from traditional Latino to American rock, and many
of the bars and restaurants offer live music. La Caliente and Las
Varitas are great night spots and live music venues. Culture
vultures will probably find a play or concert to their taste at the
Teatro de Ciuidad or Teatro Juarez, and there are several movie
theatres showing American films with Spanish subtitles.

The most popular recreational features of La Paz are its lovely
beaches, all covered with soft sand, which slope gently into clear
blue waters. Most offer watersports rental facilities, and 'palapa'
(woven palm frond umbrellas), which can be hired. Coromuel Beach is
closest to the city centre while further along the Trans-Peninsula
Highway are Tesoro Beach, Pichilinge, Balandra and El Tecolote. La
Paz also has a reputation for offering more extreme water
adventures, such as big game fishing, kayaking, windsurfing,
kitesurfing and scuba diving, particularly in the waters around the
island of Espiritu Santo. Whale-watching excursions and eco-tours
in the mountains to the south of the city are also popular holiday
diversions.